MoT's WDF

Just got my entry back from my jeweler. I'm pretty excited about it as it was free; both the case and strap. It needed some repairs, but I was able to stay well under the $35.00. Hopefully a gift qualifies for the contest. It wasn't like someone purchased a watch and gifted to me. I'll explain more when we submit!

My alternate came in today as well.
So far running nicely.
This one will likely be my entry.

Can't wait to share!

One of my two candidates came in yesterday. Going to clean it up and see how the second one looks when it arrives.

TheJohnP wrote: ↑Thu Jun 04, 2020 1:45 pm My alternate came in today as well.
So far running nicely.
This one will likely be my entry.

Can't wait to share!

Been over 24 hours and still running strong.
And keep excellent time at that!

These challenges are going to bankrupt me!

Animal Mother wrote: These challenges are going to bankrupt me!

Well, there have only been 2 so far, so hopefully there is some time before bankruptcy.

The problem comes up when purchasing multiple candidates.

I have been keeping myself to the total but including shipping. I even have a backup entry within that budget.

The next challenge should have a lower limit ~$15-20 or be a no purchase challenge.

Edit: Also, you started this. [emoji6]

Sporkboy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:16 pm

Animal Mother wrote: These challenges are going to bankrupt me!

Well, there have only been 2 so far, so hopefully there is some time before bankruptcy.

The problem comes up when purchasing multiple candidates.

I have been keeping myself to the total but including shipping. I even have a backup entry within that budget.

The next challenge should have a lower limit ~$15-20 or be a no purchase challenge.

Edit: Also, you started this. [emoji6]

It's not the challenge. It's my absolute lack of self control!

Animal Mother wrote:

Sporkboy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:16 pm

Animal Mother wrote: These challenges are going to bankrupt me!

Well, there have only been 2 so far, so hopefully there is some time before bankruptcy.

The problem comes up when purchasing multiple candidates.

I have been keeping myself to the total but including shipping. I even have a backup entry within that budget.

The next challenge should have a lower limit ~$15-20 or be a no purchase challenge.

Edit: Also, you started this. [emoji6]

It's not the challenge. It's my absolute lack of self control!

I was just going to post that this was a ‘you problem’ but I don’t think that I am much better. I just checked my saved searches and a Timex Ironman DataLink that I have been after just popped up for $15 shipped, so that has just happened. I don’t think there are any more watches I am looking for, so that is something. If I stay away from Timex flash deals then I should be OK.

Stay strong AM.

When purchasing a lot, the whole lot (minus shipping) counts towards the amount spent regardless of the cost per item within that lot.

For consideration for future challenges:

Maybe this has already been hashed out elsewhere, but I believe ppl purchasing a watch lot should be rewarded by dividing the lot cost by the lot size. Based on the watch lots I've looked at, it would take some courage to take a chance on one. Such a policy would also encourage more watch tinkering. Then, during judging, voters could decide whether or not a "lot" watch deserved accolades. As a voter, I know I would admire the additional risk and work involved. (I'm assuming the participant would enjoy sharing that detail in his story.)

If necessary, a "lot" could be clarified as an indivisible unit of purchase so as to exclude bogos, carts or bundles. I suppose it would also be necessary to describe how to measure a lot's size. I suggest using the number of watch heads (case + movement).

Feeling juiced after winning my first eBay auction in ages. There were a few other bidders, but they let me take it away for a good price. I hope I wasn't bidding against any of y'all. I hope it works (like they said it would) when it arrives. So, I should now really be "in."

BostonCharlie wrote:Feeling juiced after winning my first eBay auction in ages. There were a few other bidders, but they let me take it away for a good price. I hope I wasn't bidding against any of y'all. I hope it works (like they said it would) when it arrives. So, I should now really be "in."

Good to have you in the fold BC. Looking forward to your entry.

Sporkboy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:24 am

BostonCharlie wrote:Feeling juiced after winning my first eBay auction in ages. There were a few other bidders, but they let me take it away for a good price. I hope I wasn't bidding against any of y'all. I hope it works (like they said it would) when it arrives. So, I should now really be "in."

Good to have you in the fold BC. Looking forward to your entry.

It has been a lot of fun immersing myself in a new category of watches. I have learned so much about what's available and what it is I actually like. Thanks again for organizing this.

As I was looking for a strap for my entry, I wondered: may one entry be presented on more than one strap? The price of all such straps would be included in the total cost, naturally. I think it would demonstrate an entry's versatility. OTOH, one could argue that it's like having more than one entry, since a voter might think one watch/strap combination is good, another bad, but then vote for the entry because of the one, good combination.

Since this is my first challenge, I have another question: when we vote, do we get only one vote or can we vote for all the entries we like?

Stretch44 wrote:Just got my entry back from my jeweler. I'm pretty excited about it as it was free; both the case and strap. It needed some repairs, but I was able to stay well under the $35.00. Hopefully a gift qualifies for the contest. It wasn't like someone purchased a watch and gifted to me. I'll explain more when we submit!

strikethrough textA gift counts as long as it wasn’t a ‘gift to your self’. If you find one in the garbage, that counts.

Gifts count
Gifts to yourself do not count
Watches you find that weren’t yours to begin with count.
Watches you find in the back of your watch box drawer do not count.
Watches you steal from someone do not count.strikethrough text

Edit: Instead of creating more loopholes, I will say this:
If you believe that you have an exception that is outside of the scope of the challenge that should be considered, please send me a message. The thing to remember is that all exceptions must maintain the spirit of the challenge.

BostonCharlie wrote:

When purchasing a lot, the whole lot (minus shipping) counts towards the amount spent regardless of the cost per item within that lot.

For consideration for future challenges:

Maybe this has already been hashed out elsewhere, but I believe ppl purchasing a watch lot should be rewarded by dividing the lot cost by the lot size. Based on the watch lots I've looked at, it would take some courage to take a chance on one. Such a policy would also encourage more watch tinkering. Then, during judging, voters could decide whether or not a "lot" watch deserved accolades. As a voter, I know I would admire the additional risk and work involved. (I'm assuming the participant would enjoy sharing that detail in his story.)

If necessary, a "lot" could be clarified as an indivisible unit of purchase so as to exclude bogos, carts or bundles. I suppose it would also be necessary to describe how to measure a lot's size. I suggest using the number of watch heads (case + movement).

This is a complicated topic, but the rule clarification was made to prevent someone from purchasing a large lot of say 10 watches containing only 1 or 2 decent watches and artificially reducing the price of the lot by a factor of 10 vs. a factor of 2 in order to come in under budget.

In this way you could potentially throw money at the contest to gain a strong entry. One could argue about how many watches were actually ‘good’ vs. junk, but this is highly subjective. More than that, this sort of activity is not in the spirit of the contest. I decided to make a rule about it to avoid the problem altogether.

The next person to ‘host’ a challenge is free to change the rules as they see fit. This is still evolving, so I imagine that some of the rules that I have put into place will not last long term.

BostonCharlie wrote:

Sporkboy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:24 am

BostonCharlie wrote:Feeling juiced after winning my first eBay auction in ages. There were a few other bidders, but they let me take it away for a good price. I hope I wasn't bidding against any of y'all. I hope it works (like they said it would) when it arrives. So, I should now really be "in."

Good to have you in the fold BC. Looking forward to your entry.

It has been a lot of fun immersing myself in a new category of watches. I have learned so much about what's available and what it is I actually like. Thanks again for organizing this.

As I was looking for a strap for my entry, I wondered: may one entry be presented on more than one strap? The price of all such straps would be included in the total cost, naturally. I think it would demonstrate an entry's versatility. OTOH, one could argue that it's like having more than one entry, since a voter might think one watch/strap combination is good, another bad, but then vote for the entry because of the one, good combination.

Since this is my first challenge, I have another question: when we vote, do we get only one vote or can we vote for all the entries we like?

Straps do not figure into the price of the entry. You may show the watch on an unlimited number of strap options. While I will not disallow it, you might want to limit yourself to having the watch on no more than 3 straps at a time. I am not sure how you would do more than 2, but we are a clever bunch. Actually, I know how to do it. Never mind.

Voting was tricky last time and will be handled a bit differently this time as I will run it through google forms to automate it a bit. We did a one vote/person. I may up that to 2, but I am not going to do limitless voting.